Based out of Santiago, Chile, ACE Team's unique love for classic art, inscrutable games, and smashing things has melted together, again, to give us Rock of Ages.
#1 – Where did the inspiration for Rock of Ages come from?
After finishing Zeno Clash we had a brainstorming session in the studio for what we could do as a second title and many bizarre ideas popped up. I eventually drew a very simple doodle on a loose piece of paper about a marble game with a tower defense component (and I hinted a Terry Gilliam art style). We discussed all our different ideas and eventually 'Boulder' was the winner. The game's name was changed much later to 'Rock of Ages'.
#2 – Why break RoA into different artistic movements? Are the Bordeu brothers trying to stir up appreciation for art history through games?
The decision to make the game go through different art periods of history was a natural choice given that we were using a Monty Python / Terry Gilliam style of humor. It also allowed us to do two important things: Introduce many unique characters for the story part of the game, and also break the visuals during progression.
#3 – Are you consciously trying to show people that games can fall into more than two stylistic categories (either dark or cartoonish)?
I wouldn't say we're consciously trying to do that. Our games have a very personal style, and I think that the way our games feel comes from our creative background, and it isn't something you can artificially do… it is very natural for us.
#4 – What kind of impact do you think Rock of Ages will have?
The game, as well as Zeno Clash, is a really unique experience – very unlike anything else on the market. We're hoping that a lot of people will appreciate the title for its originality and hopefully with time we can create a decent competitive community around the multiplayer part of the game. We're going to be creating additional content, continue to polish the game and tweak units – so the multiplayer will get better and better.
#5 – Why hasn't ACE Team made a game that comfortably fits within a proven genre? Why not make a purebred RTS, or RPG, or something like that?
Wouldn't that be kind of boring? There are so many studios already doing that. I don't think we need more studios doing the same games again. If we make a game that looks weird, but plays just like a common shooter/RPG/RTS, then it wouldn't truly be a innovative game at all.
6. What's your next project?
Something extremely awesome… but I cannot say what it is yet. 🙂
